129P/Shoemaker–Levy
Periodic comet with 7 year orbit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
129P/ShoemakerâLevy, also known as ShoemakerâLevy 3, is a periodic comet in the Solar System. It fits the definition of an Encke-type comet with (TJupiter > 3; a < aJupiter),[4] and is a quasi-Hilda comet.[5]
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 3 (bottom) by Spitzer Space Telescope | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Carolyn S. Shoemaker Eugene Merle Shoemaker David H. Levy |
| Discovery date | February 7, 1991 |
| Designations | |
| 1990 XXVII; 1996 U1 | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch | March 6, 2006 |
| Aphelion | 4.676 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.807 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 3.741 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.2497 |
| Orbital period | 7.237 a |
| Inclination | 5.0108° |
| Last perihelion | 2022-Nov-30[1] February 11, 2014[2] June 5, 2005 |
| Next perihelion | 2031-Nov-05[3] |
This comet should not be confused with Comet ShoemakerâLevy 9 (D/1993 F2), which spectacularly crashed into Jupiter in 1994.
The nucleus of the comet is estimated to have a radius of 1.22 ± 0.1 km based on infrared imaging by the Spitzer Space Telescope.[6]
